Archived: Briar House

Updated 8 February 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on the 10 January 2017. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice because the location was a small care home; we needed to be sure that someone would be in. An adult social care inspector carried out the inspection.

Before the inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the service. We contacted the local authority commissioning team to obtain their views about the provider. No concerns were raised about the service provided at Briar House.

During the inspection, we spoke with and observed one person who used the service, and spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager and a support worker.

We looked at care records and medication records for people who used the service. We also looked round the property and at a range of records relating to how the service was managed, including staff records.

Updated 8 February 2017

This was an announced inspection that took place on the 10 January 2017. Our last inspection took place on 16 November 2015 when we found that the service was in breach of the Regulation 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This was because we found the provider was not meeting the requirements of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS); these safeguards ensure that any restrictions in place are legally authorised and in a person’s best interests. At this inspection, we found that the required action had been taken in relation to the DoLS and the breach was met.

Briar House is a large semi-detached house, which is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to three people with a learning disability. There were two people living at the home at the time of our inspection both of whom had lived there for 19 years. One person who had limited communication skills was at home during our inspection.

The service had a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The registered manager was also the registered the provider who visited the home regularly and was available by telephone at other times. The person carrying out the day-to-day running of the service was the deputy manager who was also registered with us at a second home owned by the provider.

Staff had received training in safeguarding adults. They were able to tell us of the correct action they would take if they witnessed or suspected abuse. There were sufficient staff on duty to meet their needs.

Staff recruitment procedures were sufficiently robust to protect people who used the service from the risks of unsuitable staff being employed.

People’s care records showed that risks to people’s health and well-being had been identified. Systems were in place to deal with any emergency that could affect the provision of care such as utility failures. Personal evacuation plans were in place.

Systems were in place to ensure medicines were safely administered and people received their medicines as prescribed.

Staff had received the training they required to meet people’s needs.

People’s health needs were met and if a person had a medical appointment additional staff were arranged to support people to attend the appointment.

We saw that there was plenty of food available at the home for people to eat. We saw that staff offered choices to the person eating lunch.

The premises was seen to be spacious, comfortable and homely. All areas of the home were seen to be clean and tidy.

The atmosphere at Briar House was calm, relaxed and friendly. Staff knew people’s likes and dislikes very well and we saw positive interactions between people.

People’s needs were documented in their care records. There was evidence that people had been involved in reviewing their care plans.

People were involved in individual activities within the home and also within the community. People were encouraged to maintain as much independence as possible.

No formal complaints had been received about the service and feedback from the local authority quality assurance team was positive.

Staff told us that they enjoyed working at Briar House and that the deputy manager and registered manager were approachable and supportive.